1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to providing an exercise device, particularly a compact and portable device for performing more effective push-ups.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The Push-Up is one of the world's oldest exercises and is one of the best ways to strengthen and build up upper body strength, including chest, shoulders, arms abdomen and lower back muscles when done correctly. In particular, push-ups are a favorite exercise for developing strength in biceps, triceps and abdominal muscles, for body-building, fitness and for weight control.
Conventional push-ups are performed whilst lying chest-down with hands at shoulder level and palms flat on the floor and slightly more than shoulder-width apart and feet together and parallel to each other. Keeping the legs straight and toes tucked under the feet, the arms are straightened to push the body up off the floor. Keeping the palms fixed at the same position and the body straight without bending or arching the upper or lower back while pushing up, the exerciser should exhale as the arms straighten out. After a momentary pause, the exerciser slowly lowers the body towards the floor. Bending the arms while keeping the palms in a fixed position and keeping the body straight and feet together, the body is lowered until the chest touches the floor. Without bending the back, the knees are kept off the floor, the exerciser inhaling as the arms are bent. After pausing for a moment, the exerciser straightens the arms for a second push-up, exhaling whilst raising the body.
Indeed, push-ups and pull-ups are all that is needed to work the major upper body muscle groups. Members of the US Armed Forces, especially the army and the Marines, still depend on these two exercises, along with crunches and running, to stay in shape when they're stationed in a locale without a training facility.
There is, however, a known limitation with using just push-ups and pull-ups for upper body training that arises as the trainee's strength plateaus, in that with any exercise, whether using one's own body weight, free weights or machines, if the resistance doesn't increase, the muscles are not overloaded and the stimulus these fibers need to grow in size is missing.
There are, however, a few ways that have long been known, for increasing the resistance of pull-ups and push-ups. One way is to elevate the feet while doing push-ups. Essentially, one starts with the feet on a step at the bottom of a stair or a low step stool. Raising the feet higher make one work against gravity, thereby increasing the resistance. Ideally one should work up to the point where one can perform push-ups with one's feet on a chair. It will be noted that the higher the feet, the more work is done by the shoulders.
Other variations for improving strength and muscular endurance include modified push-ups with hands on an object or with feet on an object. With hands on an object, the difficulty of the exercise may be increased by first placing the hands on a wall, later on a desk, then on a chair (or by progressing to lower stairs on a staircase). By progressing to lower levels of hand placement, the intensity of the exercise is increased with a resultant increase in muscle strength. With feet on an object, the body is kept straight with hands on the ground and feet on a chair, steps, or some object. Progressively elevating the feet to higher levels increases the intensity of the exercise. The difficulty and hence strength may be further increased by doing push-ups between chairs with the feet elevated; the exerciser lowering himself/herself as far as possible between the chairs.
The present invention provides a compact apparatus for assisting an exerciser to perform variations of the standard push up, where stairs, stools and the like are unavailable, and provides controlled modular increase in difficulty and effectiveness for building up muscles, fitness and stamina, and a narrow patent is requested for this novel apparatus.